USPTO Patents Application 09870801

Application No.

Applicant(s)

Notice of Allowability

KJiJtO l\J,0\J 1

GINTER ET AL

Examiner

Art Unit

Justin T. Darrow

2132

" The MAILING DATE of this communication appears on the cover sheet with the correspondence address-
All claims being allowable, PROSECUTION ON THE MERITS IS (OR REMAINS) CLOSED in this application. If not included
herewith (or previously mailed), a Notice of Allowance (PTOL-85) or other appropriate communication will be mailed in due course. THIS
NOTICE OF ALLOWABILITY IS NOT A GRANT OF PATENT RIGHTS. This application is subject to withdrawal from issue at the initiative
of the Office or upon petition by the applicant See 37 CFR 1 .31 3 and MPEP 1 308.

1 . ^ This communication is responsive to an amendment Wed 03/26/2004 .

2. ^ The allowed claim(s) is/are 91-128 ,

3. ^ The drawings filed on 01 June 2001 are accepted by the Examiner.

4. □ Acknowledgment is made of a claim for foreign priority under 35 U.S.C. § 1 19(a)-(d) or (f).

a) □ All b) □ Some* c) □ None of the:

1. □ Certified copies of the priority documents have been received.

2. □ Certified copies of the priority documents have been received in Application No. .

3. □ Copies of the certified copies of the priority documents have been received in this national stage application from the

International Bureau (POT Rule 17.2(a)).
* Certified copies not received: .

Applicant has THREE MONTHS FROM THE "MAILING DATE" of this communication to file a reply complying with the requirements
noted below. Failure to timely comply will result in ABANDONMENT of this application.
THIS THREE-MONTH PERIOD IS NOT EXTENDABLE.

5. □ A SUBSTITUTE OATH OR DECLARATION must be submitted. Note the attached EXAMINER'S AMENDMENT or NOTICE OF

INFORMAL PATENT APPLICATION (PTO-152) which gives reason(s) why the oath or declaration is deficient.

6. □ CORRECTED DRAWINGS ( as "replacement sheets") must be submitted.

(a) □ including changes required by the Notice of Draftsperson's Patent Drawing Review ( PTO-948) attached

1 ) □ hereto or 2) □ to Paper No./Mail Date .

(b) □ including changes required by the attached Examiner's Amendment / Comment or in the Office action of

Paper No./Mail Date .

Identifying indicia such as the application number (see 37 CFR 1.84(c)) should be written on the drawings in the front (not the back) of
each sheet. Replacement sheet(s) should be labeled as such in the header according to 37 CFR 1.121(d).

7. □ DEPOSIT OF and/or INFORMATION about the deposit of BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL nnust be submitted. Note the

attached Examiner's comment regarding REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEPOSIT OF BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL.

Attachment(s)

1 . □ Notice of References Cited (PTO-892) 5. □ Notice of Informal Patent Application (PTO-152)

2. □ Notice of Draftperson's Patent Drawing Review (PTO-948) 6. □ Interview Summary (PTO-413),

Paper No./Mail Date .

3. El Information Disclosure Statements (PTO-1449 or PTO/SB/08), 7. □ Examiner's Amendment/Comment

Paper No./Mail Date

4. □ Examiner's Comment Regarding Requirement for Deposit 8. ^ Examiner's Statement of Reasons for Allowance

of Biological Material 9. □ Other .

U.S. Patenl and Trademarit Office
PTOL-37 (Rev. 1-04)

Notice of Allowability

Part of Paper No./Mail Date 01232005

Application/Control Number: 09/870,801 Page 2

Art Unit: 2132

DETAILED ACTION

1 . Claims 1-128 have been presented for examination. Claims 1-90 have been canceled and
new claims 91-128 have been added in a preliminary amendment filed 06/01/2001. Claims 91,
93, 94, 96, 97, 103, 121, 123, and 126-128 have been amended in an amendment filed
03/26/2004. Claims 91-128 have been examined.

Priority

2. Acknowledgment is made that the instant application is a continuation of Application No.
09/342,899, filed 06/29/1999, which is a continuation of Application No. 08/780,545, filed
01/08/1997, now U.S. Patent 5,917,912 A, which is a division of Application No. 08/388,107,
filed 02/13/1995, now abandoned.

Information Disclosure Statement

3 . The information disclosure statements (IDSs) submitted on 1 1 /08/2004, 1 0/2 1 /2004,
03/26/2004, and 03/26/2004 were filed after the mailing date of the Office action on 09/26/2003.
The submission is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the
information disclosure statements have been considered by the examiner.

A llowable Subject Matter

4. Claims 91-128 are allowed.

5. The following is an examiner's statement of reasons for allowance:

Application/Control Number: 09/870,801 Page 3

Art Unit: 2132

Claims 91-95 are drawn to a load module embodied on a computer-readable medium.
The closest prior art, Stefik, U.S. Patent No. 5,715,403 A, discloses a similar load module.
Although Stefik describes a repository sending periodic charge information to a credit server (see
column 29, lines 60-67 and column 30, lines 23-26), he neither teaches nor suggests the load
module body including executable programming specifying that information relating to a use of
the load module be communicated to a remote site. This particular feature explicitly
incorporated into independent claim 91 renders claims 91-95 allowable.

Claims 96-120 are drawn to an operating system embodied on a computer-readable
medium. The closest prior art, Stefik, U.S. Patent No. 5,71 5,403 A, discloses a similar operating
system. Although Stefik describes communications programming used to communicate a
confirmation of billing for metered use (see column 32, lines 39-45; figure 18, steps 1818 and
1819), he neither shows nor motivates a component assembling programming including
communications programming used to communicate at least one result of a tag comparison to a
remote site. This distinct element explicitly recited in independent claim 96 renders claims 96-
120 allowable.

Claims 121-125 are drawn to a component assembly embodied on a computer-readable
medium. The closest prior art, Stefik, U.S. Patent No. 5,715,403 A, discloses a similar
component assembly. Although Stefik describes communications programming used to assign a
transaction ID to billing transactions reported to a credit server (see column 30, lines 33-37), he
neither specifies nor implies load module executable programming including programming
requiring the storage of audit information relating to the use of the component assembly. The
particular feature explicitly recited in independent claim 121 renders claims 121-125 allowable.

Application/Control Number: 09/870,801 Page 4

Art Unit: 2132

Claim 126 is drawn to a component assembly embodied on a computer-readable medium.
The closest prior art, Stefik, U.S. Patent No. 5,715,403 A, discloses a similar component
assembly. However Stefik neither teaches nor suggests load module executable programming
including programming requiring the storage of information uniquely identifying a device at
which the component assembly is stored. The particular feature explicitly recited in independent
claim 126 renders it allowable.

Claim 127 is drawn to a component assembly embodied on a computer-readable medium.
The closest prior art, Stefik, U.S. Patent No. 5,715,403 A, discloses a similar component
assembly. However Stefik neither teaches nor suggests load module executable programming
including programming requiring communicating a unique identification for a device at which
the component assembly is stored. The particular feature explicitly recited in independent claim
127 renders it allowable.

Claim 128 is drawn to a computer processing system. The closest prior art, Stefik, U.S.
Patent No. 5,715,403 A, discloses a similar component assembly. However Stefik neither,
teaches nor suggests a communications module which communicates a unique identifier of the
computer processing system or a use user of the computer processing system to a remote
location. The particular feature explicitly recited in independent claim 128 renders it allowable.

Any comments considered necessary by applicant must be submitted no later than the
payment of the issue fee and, to avoid processing delays, should preferably accompany the issue
fee. Such submissions should be clearly labeled "Comments on Statement of Reasons for
Allowance."

Application/Control Number: 09/870,801 Page 5

Art Unit: 2132

Telephone Inquiry Contacts

Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the
examiner should be directed to Justin T. Darrow whose telephone number is (571) 272-3801, and
whose electronic mail address isjustin.darrow@uspto.gov. The examiner can normally be
reached Monday-Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.

If attempts to reach the examiner by telephone are unsuccessful, the examiner's
supervisor, Gilberto Barron, Jr., can be reached at (571) 272-3799.

The fax number for Formal or Official faxes to Technology Center 2100 is (703) 872-
9306. In order for a formal paper transmitted by fax to be entered into the application file, the
paper and/or fax cover sheet must be signed by a representative for the applicant. Faxed formal
papers for application file entry, such as amendments adding claims, extensions of time, and
statutory disclaimers for which fees must be charged before entry, must be transmitted with an
authorization to charge a deposit account to cover such fees. It is also recommended that the
cover sheet for the fax of a formal paper have printed "OFFICIAL FAX". Formal papers
transmitted by fax usually require three business days for entry into the application file and
consideration by the examiner. Formal or Official faxes including amendments after final
rejection (37 CFR 1.116) should be submitted to (703) 872-9306 for expedited entry into the
application file. It is further recommended that the cover sheet for the fax containing an
amendment after final rejection have printed not only "OFFICIAL FAX" but also
"AMENDMENT AFTER FINAL".

Information regarding the status of an application may be obtained from the Patent
AppHcation Information Retrieval (PAIR) system. Status information for pubHshed appHcations

Application/Control Number: 09/870,801 Page 6

Art Unit: 2132

may be obtained from either Private PAIR or Public PAIR. Status information for unpublished
applications is available through Private PAIR only. For more information about the PAIR
system, see http://pair-direct.uspto.gov. Should you have questions on access to the Private PAIR
system, contact the Electronic Business Center (EBC) at 866-217-9197 (toll-free).

Any inquiry of a general nature or relating to the status of this application should be
directed to the Group receptionist whose telephone number is (571) 272-2100.

January 23, 2005

JUSTIN T. DARROW
PRIMARY EXAMINER
TECHNOLOGY CENTER 2100